Everyone from the TAMIU and Laredo community is invited to bring expired or unused medications (pills or patches) for safe disposal. Liquids, needles or sharps cannot be accepted.

The initiative aims to prevent and reduce substance abuse, thefts, misuse and abuse of medicines including opioid painkillers. According to the DEA, medicines which languish at home are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies cited by the DEA show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

The DEA adds that usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information, contact Rosario Benavides, program manager, TAMIU SCAN Prevention Project, College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ Dr. F.M. Canseco School of Nursing, at maria.benavides@tamiu.edu or 326.2575.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.

Additional information is available at www.tamiu.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.